Idomura
by Twilight PhoenixFyre
Summary: The Moving Village, the Gypsies. Hated by some, loved by others, and never staying more than ten days in one place. And one of their children is about to turn Sunagakure on its head. "She controls wind like Gaara controls sand," Kankuro told his father. Despite that being not quite true, Gaara didn't care. She was his first friend, and he hers. 'T' for future language/violence/etc.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello! I'm back with another story. Again. Because I really needed another project. (Please note all sarcasm.)  
_

_Anyway... Just wondering how this one will go over with other people. I will finish this whether it is liked or not, because I like it and it is my baby. (Also, I really want to see where these plot bunnies are going.) So, with only two more notes..._

_First off, Idomura name pronunciations, because this confuzzled my poor, over-worked beta: Riil (reel), Fonz (fahnz), Wyrn (weern). (She was trying to pronounce them like the words gill, phones, and worm. Understandable, but still...) Oh, and please don't get Kazuto and Kabuto mixed up. Please? There is a BIG difference between them..._

_Also, I own only the concept for this story's strangeness and my OCs. All characters/concepts that belong to the Naruto manga/anime are (unfortunately) not mine._

_Enjoy! Feel free to leave a review, if you'd like, tell me how awful I did. (I don't care either way.)  
_

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**Chapter 1  
Son of Sand, Daughter of Wind**

"The Gypsies! Daddy, the Idomura are here! They're here!"

The Kazekage looked down at his seven-year-old daughter and sighed. "Yes, I know," he told her. He then pulled her out from behind his robes and nodded toward the man in front of him. He was blonde, with most of his hair pulled back into a long ponytail, and his bangs framing either side of his face. His headband bore the mark of a ninja from Konohagakure, but the fabric itself...

"Why is your headband purple and yellow?" the young girl asked. The man chuckled, crouching to be at her level.

"It's the mark of an Idomura ninja, young lady," he said. "We train in many different villages, and each carry the mark of our village of origin, so we needed to have some means of identifying ourselves."

The girl blinked a few times. "Is that why the men and women on the edges of the caravan always wear something purple and yellow?" she asked. The man nodded.

"Indeed. And what is the young lady's name, if I may ask?"

The girl smiled. "I'm Temari. What's yours?"

"Kazuto," the man said before standing and turning to the Kazekage once more. "So, I can assume this is the daughter you spoke of earlier?"

The Kazekage nodded. "Yes. I've sent someone to retrieve her younger brothers. They will be here shortly," he said. "I trust that no harm will come to them within the boundaries of the caravan?"

Kazuto nodded with a smile. "Yes. We set up camp with the backside to a cliff and we've got four ninja stationed on top, in addition to our perimeter. They will be safe," he assured the man. Then another ninja walked in with two children, one of whom looked like he did not want to be there at all. Also, Kazuto wondered how much sleep the boy had gotten recently.

The Idomura ninja led the little procession out of Sunagakure, toward a set of brightly-colored tents that was visible against the bland cliff walls. Once they had passed within the obvious perimeter of the camp, the Kazekage turned to his children.

"I must speak with Kazuto regarding ninja business. The three of you are free to roam the camp so long as you stay within it. Do not let yourselves be separated," he told the children. The elder of the two boys nodded, along with the girl.

"Yes, Father," they chorused, starting to walk off when they realized their brother was still standing where they'd left him. The Kazekage looked down at the youngest, who nodded only slightly before following his siblings, still not looking happy with the arrangement.

The three siblings didn't make it far before the sound of an argument broke out up ahead, and Temari, ever curious, ran off toward it.

"I'm tired of having to babysit your sulky little butt every hour of every day!" A boy was yelling at a younger girl. The boy appeared to be Temari's age.

The black-haired girl's face couldn't be seen, between her loose, shoulder-length black hair and the way she was keeping her head bowed. The older boy's brown hair, on the other hand, was mostly held back in a high ponytail, a red streak starting from his left temple.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Temari asked. Another boy, this one a blonde a bit older than Temari and the brunette, glanced over at the trio of siblings.

"Fonz, you're attracting attention. If Riil wants to go back to the wagon, she can go back to the wagon," he said, attempting to calm the brunette. It didn't work.

"I can't believe you, Wyrn! She's done nothing but sulk, moan, and complain since mom's death! She doesn't want to be a ninja, and she won't dance or sing! So you tell me what she's going to contribute to the caravan!" 'Fonz' yelled. The elder of Temari's brothers cringed.

"Well, we've obviously interrupted something," he muttered. Temari sighed.

"Oh, come on, Kankuro. That's really not nice," she whispered back. The small redhead was peeking around Temari's skirt, much like she'd been peeking around her father's robes earlier in the day.

"'She' is standing right next to you, moron."

The blonde boy's head shot in the girl's direction. "Riil! Language!" he snapped. Her head shot up, revealing sky blue but pupil-less eyes.

"What's it matter? No one's gonna care in the end. So I'm just gonna go do what everyone wants me to do and stay away from everybody," she said, her voice dark. "I will see you at dinner."

All five children watched as she turned and walked away, tiny fists clenched, and all five saw the sand that moved out of her path. Temari and Kankuro glanced at each other, eyes wide, before looking down at their brother, who was just as shocked.

Then the blonde boy turned to them with a sigh and walked over. "I'm sorry you had to witness that," he said. "You three must be the Kazekage's kids. Dad said he'd be talking to him."

Temari blinked. "Your dad is Kazuto?" she asked. The blonde nodded.

"Yes. I'm Wyrn. This is my little brother, Fonz. And... the girl who stormed off was our sister, Riil. She's... had a rough year," he said. Fonz scoffed.

"Rough year... Right..."

That comment got him a firm elbow in the side from his older brother.

"So, what are your names?" Wyrn asked, successfully changing the subject. Temari smiled.

"I'm Temari, and these are my little brothers Kankuro and Gaara."

"Uh... Which one's the redhead?" Fonz asked. Kankuro sighed.

"That would be Gaara," he answered. Fonz chuckled nervously.

"Well, Gaara appears to have disappeared on you two."

Temari and Kankuro looked around frantically for a moment before their eyes met again, neither wanting to know just how much trouble they would be in if they didn't find the four-year-old. They turned to Wyrn, who chuckled.

"We'll help. We know the camp inside and out. We'll find him."

On the other side of camp, hidden by some dunes on one side and the cliffs on the other, Gaara finally caught up to Riil, who was making a twirling motion with her finger. In the middle of the small hollow, a tiny tornado of sand was swirling around.

"What are you?"

Riil froze, the sand of the 'tornado' flopping to the ground immediately as her eyes sought him out. Once she had found him, though, she scowled, tucking the hand she'd had extended into her arm. "Why do you care?"

Gaara walked over to her and squatted down a respectful distance to her left. "Because..." he started, hesitating to tell her. Then he reached out his hand, and sand swirled up from the ground to wrap around it and his arm. "We're the same," he said finally. Riil watched him and the sand for a few moments before frowning.

"It's not the same."

Gaara looked up at her in surprise, seeing that she had stood up, and his eyes widened, in fear now as the sand returned to the ground. "How?" he asked, desperate not to fail with her where he had failed with so many others.

Riil didn't reply, not verbally. She tilted her head to the side, and Gaara did the same, wondering what she was listening to. As it turned out, he could hear music quite easily from the hollow, and the current song seemed to be coming to an end.

Riil stepped forward to the center of the hollow, where she had been making her sand tornado earlier, and paused to listen again.

The next melody started up, and Gaara watched as the black-haired girl wasted no time jumping into a dance. Her movements seemed stiff and forced, however, unlike the fluid and enchanting dances her people were known for. But as she began to relax, slipping into the dance and becoming more graceful and less rough, the redhead started to figure out why she'd said they were different.

The hollow had not been breezy. In fact, there hadn't been much wind at all, that day. But as Riil relaxed, a small breeze started to dance around the hollow, until Riil was dancing within a sphere of wind, the wind kicking up enough sand to show Gaara exactly where it was blowing.

Except, the four-year-old boy couldn't bring himself to use the word 'blow' to describe the ball of wind. It was flowing, a never-ending but ever-changing pattern that moved left, right, up, down, and accentuated Riil's dance as if it were a part of her. Gaara was certain that she wasn't controlling it consciously, however, as some of the stray bits of wind were harsh, and one that rebounded off of a dune crashed into his back and sent the four-year-old sprawling in the sand. He sat right back up though, and decided to take a risk.

Two thin streams of sand found their way into the ball of intertwined wind, and they danced around the wind in a simpler pattern that Gaara was doing his best to match up with the base rhythm of the song. The wind faltered a moment with Riil's step as the addition of the sand distracted her and brought her back to reality for a moment, but then she continued her dance, stubbornly refusing to waver again, it seemed.

It was to the sight of Riil twirling in the climax of the song, wind and streams of sand wrapped around her while Gaara watched, that Wyrn, Temari, Fonz, and Kankuro peeked around the edge of a wagon that was sitting in such a way as to almost block off the hollow from the one angle it was accessible from.

Temari and Kankuro nearly bolted out into the hollow to grab their brother, but Wyrn held them both back.

"Watch," he whispered. Fonz's eyes widened as he looked up at his older brother, who had a sparkle in his blue eyes that the brunette hadn't seen in years.

Riil finished the dance off by taking a small leap toward Gaara and throwing her arms out and her head back. The wind dispersed behind her, kicking up some extra sand in her wake, and Gaara made the sand streams burst apart from about where her hands were. Wyrn looked at his younger brother and grinned, mischief in his eyes now, before letting go of Temari and Kankuro carefully.

"Why—mph!" Kankuro started, Fonz putting a hand over his mouth before he could start.

Riil lowered her arms and looked at Gaara, an expression of utter shock on her face. The redhead stared back at her for what seemed like ages before he ducked his head and stood, obviously intending to leave as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, turning away from Riil, whose eyes widened even further, if that were possible.

"No!"

Gaara froze at the sound of footsteps behind him and turned to find that Riil was now only a couple of feet away. "No..." Riil said again, the shock fading into wonder slowly. She then reached out and pulled Gaara into a hug, finally smiling. "Thank you."

Wyrn's playful grin was now just a very happy smile, and he pulled Temari and Kankuro away, Fonz following behind after prompting from the blonde boy. Once the four of them were a distance away, and out of direct earshot, he let go of Gaara's older siblings.

"We'll just leave them alone for a while, yes?" he asked, though it was really more of an order than a suggestion. Temari's eyes widened, but it was Kankuro who spoke.

"But Gaara—"

"Riil hasn't danced, hugged anyone, smiled, or said 'thank you' in over a year," Fonz said.

Wyrn chuckled. "That your brother managed to get her to do so in less than ten minutes tells me that he's the only with a chance of finding out where the little Riil we used to know went," he added. Fonz smiled, looking at Temari.

"Gaara's special, isn't he?" he asked. The blonde bit her lip, but nodded, and Fonz grinned. "Then he'll probably need her company as much as I think she's needed his."

Kankuro walked back over toward the wagon and glanced around it to see the two four-year-olds making sand tornadoes, Riil using her wind to whip one up as she had before. He smiled and walked back to the others, chuckling all the way. He looked up at Temari, who sighed. She knew that look even before Kankuro said anything.

"We'll leave them alone for a while."


	2. Chapter 2

_Don't expect updates to keep coming at this speed. I'm pretty much just posting whenever I feel like it, right now. I'll work out a schedule later.  
_

_Still own only my OCs._

_Time-skipped a week._

_Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 2  
Idea of a Future**

Almost a week had passed, with the Kazekage visiting Kazuto every day, and taking his three children with him. However, on the seventh day, an argument broke out in the Kazekage's household.

"Please, Father? They're only gonna be here another couple of days, you said so yourself! Please let us go! Gaara really wants to go!" six-year-old Kankuro was begging. Temari had given up twenty minutes previously.

The Kazekage paused, causing his son to nearly run into his legs, and looked down at the boy. "Gaara?"

Kankuro's eyes widened in fear before grim determination overtook it. "Yes, Gaara. He's finally made a friend, Father. You haven't seen him this last week, have you? You haven't seen the way he's been smiling," he said. The Kazekage frowned before turning and heading in a different direction from the one he'd been going in originally, Kankuro following him. The two came out on a balcony overlooking a sheltered space, where Gaara was playing around with the sand under his control in a way the Kazekage had never seen.

And the little redhead was grinning the whole time.

Kankuro and his father watched the boy for a few minutes before the Kazekage finally spoke. "Who is it?"

Kankuro took a deep breath. "Kazuto's daughter. She controls wind the way Gaara controls sand," he admitted. His father looked down at him before looking back out at Gaara again. He then sighed.

"Find Baki and your sister. You may take Gaara and visit the Idomura again," he said, turning and walking away, oblivious to the wide, surprised eyes of his elder son. Kankuro recovered quickly though, a grin spreading across his face as he ran off to find Temari, who was, conveniently, talking to Baki about her ninja training.

"Temari! Baki! Come on, we're going to the Idomura!" Kankuro yelled happily. "I'll go get Gaara! Come on!"

He took off before either of the elder two could reply, but Temari slowly started to smile and ran in the other direction to get her shoes. Baki, in keeping with his cautious nature, teleported up to the Kazekage's office and knocked on the door.

"Yes, Baki, I'm letting them go. Tomorrow as well, if they start asking," the elder man called, having suspected that Baki would come right up to ask if Kankuro was telling the truth. Baki couldn't help but chuckle before heading back down, where Kankuro and Gaara were running in from the courtyard. Temari didn't take much longer, and the jounin sighed, amused by the trio's antics.

"Alright, let's go," he prompted. Gaara was the one to lead the procession out for once, very much acting impatient, which was usually Temari's little problem. To see the usually downcast boy in such a good mood already not only surprised Baki, but Temari. She'd gotten used to Gaara waiting until after they had reached the camp to start running.

The trip to the Idomura camp was short, but that couldn't be helped. There was also little that could be done to stop Gaara from bolting off toward the far end of the camp the moment they passed the perimeter.

Temari, Kankuro, and Baki were hard-pressed to keep up with the little redhead, but when they reached the hollow, it was to a bit of a surprise.

Riil wasn't there.

Temari blinked a few times. "That's weird. She's usually here before you," she said, walking up behind Gaara. The boy turned around and looked up at her, looking very worried and very upset.

"You don't think something bad happened, do you?" he asked.

A sudden breeze whipped around the hollow, and the four turned to watch Riil storming past them toward an indentation in the rock that Kankuro was sure hadn't been there before.

"My father is a moron."

"Okay... You really like that word, don't you?" Kankuro asked. Riil turned around, tucking herself into the rock.

"I told him I wanted to be a ninja. But he's forcing me to go to school in Konoha," she said. Gaara walked over and crouched in front of her.

"You'll still be able to visit, won't you? Please tell me you'll be able to visit," he said. Riil bit her lip.

"I don't know... If I'm on summer break and Daddy can send someone to get me, maybe. I'm not starting this year, he's dropping me off next year on our way here," she told him. "I hope I can. I want to. I... I've never had a friend before. I don't want to lose you."

Gaara clenched his fists and looked down at the sand for a while before his eyes widened and he looked up at Riil, pulling the black-haired girl to her feet. "Come on, I've been practicing!" he said, leaving Baki and his siblings baffled.

Riil blinked, finally recognizing the song that a few of the adults had started playing, and started dancing. Temari and Kankuro backed up, pulling Baki away with them, knowing full well that a good amount of sand could and would get kicked up by the duo.

Riil was obviously dancing lead, but what shocked them most was watching Gaara. The black-haired girl had enchanted him with her dance, and now she'd managed to pull him into it beyond just his sand.

They certainly weren't expecting Wyrn to jump in as well about halfway through. Gaara's movements suddenly seemed a lot more coordinated, even though he and Wyrn were moving like there was a mirror between them, rather than identically.

"Wow. When did that happen?"

Temari turned and smiled. "Hi, Fonz. And honestly, I don't know," she replied. The brunette crossed his arms.

"Well, it explains where Wyrn kept disappearing to yesterday and the day before. Gaara's obviously used to having him there as well," Fonz said.

The song came to an end, a whirl of wind and sand wrapping around the three before exploding outward. Gently, at least, since the spectators didn't get completely blown away.

Riil and Gaara had identical goofy grins on their faces, while Wyrn looked extremely proud of the small redhead. "Well, who knew? You catch on even faster than I do, Gaara," Wyrn said. Riil giggled.

"Careful, can't let Yva know! She'd try to kidnap him!" Riil joked. Gaara chuckled, turning pink from all the praise. Wyrn noticed this and shook his head, turning to Fonz, Temari, Kankuro, and Baki.

"Come on, let's leave these two goofballs alone. Fonz, Father's looking for you," he prompted. Fonz rolled his eyes.

"Don't remind me. He's trying to talk me into joining you in Iwagakure when we stop there next spring," he grumbled. Riil frowned.

"At least you'd be someplace where gypsies aren't hated. I'm gonna be in the middle of the Land of Fire, which is literally the worst place for a gypsy to be," she said. Then she grabbed Gaara and pulled him over toward the indent in the rock.

Temari and Kankuro glanced at each other before looking up at Wyrn, who sighed. "I'll tell you in a few minutes. Come on, let's leave those two alone so they can be weird without freaking the rest of us out," he said, pulling Fonz away forcefully. Temari and Kankuro each grabbed one of Baki's hands to pull the Sand jounin away as well.

"If you're so against going to Konohagakure to become a ninja, then why not go to Iwagakure?" Gaara asked Riil after their siblings and Baki were gone. Sand started moving, shifting so that the two four-year-olds could reach a buried hole in the cliff face.

The hole was, in fact, the entrance to a cave system.

And, being the adventurous children they were, Riil and Gaara were happily exploring it, even going so far as to call the large, spacious cavern in the center 'The Hollow.' It was their hidden place, somewhere for them to be themselves, without any prying eyes catching them. Gaara, at Riil's prompting, had even made a few very small holes in the ceiling with his sand to let in some light.

The two sat down in the center, which was covered in sand, again thanks to Gaara, to make for a softer floor. "Gaara... You remember how you asked about my mom, and I told you she'd died in a storm?" Gaara nodded, and Riil pulled her knees up to her chest. "I was dancing... well, trying to dance... outside Iwagakure a little over a year ago now, and my abilities surfaced all at once, and... it was strong and... I couldn't control it at all. My mom... I threw her back into a tree as the whirlwind started up..." she trailed off. Gaara's eyes were wide, and starting to water, as he crawled over to Riil and pulled her into a hug, comforting her in the only way he knew how.

"She was dead long before the storm stopped. No one in camp could look at me after that. I... I tried to find peace in dancing, but... It would always just start the wind up again. So I stopped," Riil said after a while. "Gaara... You're the first person I danced for in a year. That's why I asked my dad to let me come to school here."

Gaara blinked. "But, you said..."

Riil buried her head in her arms. "Mother was an Iwagakure ninja. Daddy is from Konohagakure. I have to go to one of those villages to train. Daddy won't make an exception," she said. Gaara bit his lip.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, hugging his own knees now as he considered something. "Riil... The sand... Your wind... you were right, when we met. It's not the same... at least, I don't think so."

Riil looked up at him and blinked a couple of times before tilting her head to the side. Gaara took a deep breath. "I... I... There's... There's a demon..." the redhead said, shaking. Riil's eyes widened.

"You mean... like... one of the tailed beasts?" she asked. Gaara looked up at her in shock.

"How do you know about them?" he asked. Riil bit her lip.

"My daddy... He had a little brother, and my uncle's wife had one inside her. When she died, and the demon got free, my uncle sealed the tailed beast into their son. He'd be about our age now, if I remember Daddy's stories right," she said. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Gaara. "What's it like?"

Gaara stared at her in shock. There was no fear in her eyes. No anger or hate in her expression. Everything he'd grown used to from the villagers, he'd expected her to display once she'd found out. But she wasn't hateful. Or angry. Or afraid. Just... curious.

Gaara smiled a little bit. "Scary. Sometimes when I go to sleep, it comes out and starts hurting people. It feels like something's ripping me apart from the inside, some days, and I can almost hear something screaming at me to let it out," he said, not daring to let his smile widen even as Riil's expression remained steady.

Riil listened as he went on for a while before she smiled. "You know, it's probably just lonely and tired of being cramped up inside of you," she said. "Maybe... maybe you could make a body for some of its chakra out of sand, make it the size of a dog or something, and it could come out and be able to move around on its own for a bit without bothering you."

Gaara just stared at her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Okay, still not operating under any kind of a posting schedule. Working on fixing that._

_New cover, I hope you all like it._

_Um... Not much else to say, other than thanks to the people who have reviewed!_

_I, unfortunately, only own my OCs (although I admit to there being a lot of them in these early chapters)._

_Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 3  
Heart of Wind, Demon of Sand**

When the Idomura arrived in Sunagakure the next year, it was with little fanfare. They simply came along in their caravan, moved around in a circle, and parked at the foot of the cliffs exactly where they had the year before.

Gaara didn't immediately start begging his father to go. In fact, he gave no indication that he even knew the gypsies were there. He ignored Temari, who was as excited as always, and brushed Kankuro off, even though the older boy was hoping to see Gaara smile again. The redhead hadn't smiled since a month after the Idomura had left the year before.

"Gaara, I will not be leaving you behind. I need to speak with Kazuto again," the Kazekage called. He, too, had seen his son's quiet retreat into himself, and knew that he was partly, if not mostly, to blame for it.

Gaara joined his father, siblings, and Baki only because his father had ordered him to. That much was obvious. But as the group of five reached the Idomura camp, a black blur came flying out of one of the wagons to latch onto the five-year-old boy.

"Save me!"

Gaara jerked away from the other child before realizing exactly who it was. "Riil!"

"Save me! Before Yva catches me, please!" the black-haired girl was rambling, looking fearfully over her shoulder.

None of the older four could do anything but watch as the sand swallowed Gaara and Riil whole. A black-haired teenager practically stormed over to them while they were still staring at the spot where the children had been.

"I'm sorry to be a bother, sirs, but have you seen a five-year-old girl with black hair and blue eyes?" the almost-a-woman asked. "She's supposed to be helping me today before her father takes her to Konoha tomorrow and she's run off."

Kankuro and Temari exchanged a look before breaking down in snickers that quickly turned into cackles in the boy's case.

"Well, _excuse_ me!"

Temari shook her head. "No, it's not you, Miss Yva. It's just, well... ha ha... Gaara... ha ha... Riil tackled him and forced him to help her escape," the eight-year-old said, laughing all the way through. Kankuro finally managed to get his laughter under control as he looked up at Yva.

"Gaara's been depressed 'cause Riil told him last year she wouldn't be able to come back before she had to leave. You should have seen the look on his face!" he said, breaking down into laughter again.

Yva crossed her arms with a frown as she watched the two with a critical eye. Then she sighed.

"Oh, I can't stay mad at you two. And especially not Gaara and Riil. Those two... Well, let's just say I interrupted one of their little dance practices when I was looking for Wyrn one time. I don't think I've ever seen an Idomura and a non-Idomura so close, even at that age. And to think that Riil will be in Konoha for the next seven years or so... It's rather sad..." she said. The Kazekage raised an eyebrow.

"Dance practice?"

Temari giggled. "Riil roped Gaara into dancing with her because she can't dance with anyone else since no one really likes her abilities," she explained. Then she looked back up at Yva. "If you still need help, I won't mind. Unlike Gaara, whose entire reason for coming here is leaving tomorrow, I've got until the entire caravan leaves to run around."

Yva smiled and patted her on the head, looking up at the Kazekage. "I think I might take your daughter up on that offer, if you don't mind? Putting up the stage really isn't a one-woman job, and the others have a lot of work to do themselves."

The Kazekage shook his head. "I have to speak with Kazuto. So long as she stays out of trouble," he agreed. Temari skipped off with Yva, the two happily chatting about one of the dancers who would be performing that night. Then he looked down at Kankuro. "That goes for you, too. Stay out of trouble."

Kankuro nodded before taking off, wondering if the old man who always sold kebabs needed help setting his stuff up. Maybe a little work would get him a free meal...

Meanwhile, the two five-year-olds were now comfortably sitting in the Hollow. However, both were silent, and were staring at each other, until Riil stood, walked over to Gaara, and pushed his bangs aside gently.

"'Love.' ...How did this...?" Riil whispered, unable to finish. The scar was a bright red still, and Gaara hung his head.

"Riil... You... You don't secretly hate me deep down, do you?" he asked, hesitant. Riil recoiled away from him before almost as quickly throwing herself back and knocking him to the ground with her.

"Gaara! How can you say something like that?! Of course I don't! You're my best friend, you accept me for who I really am, you're the only one who does! If you can accept me, I can accept you, too!" she half-yelled at him. Gaara stared at her with wide eyes before he sighed, a small smile finally spreading across his face as the two of them sat up again.

"I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't have asked that. I should have known... it's just..." he said, trailing off as the smile disappeared again. Riil scooted over so she was right next to him.

"What happened?"

Gaara bit his lip. "My uncle tried to kill me."

"What?!"

He nodded. "He... he said my mother never loved me, that... that no one loves me. He said you didn't like me either, 'cause you're a gypsy, and gypsies don't have friends..." he said quietly. Riil wrapped an arm around his shoulders and put her head down on the one closest to her.

"Your uncle needs to die in a hole if he thinks that."

Gaara's shoulders shook for a few minutes, and he turned slightly to hug Riil again. "He's already dead, Riil. The demon... the demon got out. It killed him, and then it.. it..."

Riil's grip tightened. "You were upset. Remember what happened last year when we first started trying to get it out and you got really upset because nothing was working?" she asked. Gaara looked up at her and nodded, blinking back the tears that had tried to form. "Come on, let's try again."

"No!" Gaara yelled, jumping up and away from her. "No! I... I..."

"Gaara! Calm down, please!"

Gaara turned, spotting the sand that had started creeping up around Riil and was curling around her, tightly. Too tightly, she was in pain.

The redhead clenched his jaw, forcing the sand away from her before continuing to back away slowly. "See? I... I can't... It... It'll hurt you..."

Riil stood up, brushing stray bits of sand off, and looked up at Gaara with a smile. "Maybe it'll try. But if you could work with it, instead of against it..." she trailed off.

"You'll get hurt," Gaara insisted quietly. Riil just turned to him with that smile and shrugged.

"If I get hurt, then I get hurt. I won't let you live in fear of yourself."

Gaara stared at this girl, who was _still_ insisting on getting the demon out of him enough for them to talk to it.

He turned toward the center of the Hollow and held out his hand, the sand there obediently raising and forming into a shape. Dark, dark blue chakra swirled around Gaara's arm, flowing into the sand in the center.

Riil walked over to Gaara, standing next to him but looking ready to start twirling at any moment as the sand formed into...

"A tanuki?"

The raccoon-dog stood, turning its head towards the two children before growling. It was quite obviously not happy, and Riil shifted her footing, though Gaara had to wonder just why she looked like she was about to jump into a twirl. "So... You're the host..." the tanuki said, causing both kids to jump a little.

Seeing that Gaara, who was just short of a full-blow panic attack, was in no state to be speaking, Riil stepped forward. "Yes, he is. It's nice to meet you," she said, as cheerfully as possible.

The tanuki narrowed its eyes at her before shooting forward, teeth extended. Gaara cried out, only for Riil to quickly slip into that twirl he'd been expecting before, generating a whirlwind around the two five-year-olds that threw the tanuki away. It stood again, eyes now almost as wide as Gaara's, even as Riil sighed.

"And here I was hoping you weren't the evil demon everyone makes you out to be..." she said sadly, reaching back and taking Gaara's hand. The tanuki didn't respond for quite some time, and when it did, it wasn't the response the two were expecting.

"That wind... Can you summon it again? Without throwing me away?"

Riil looked at him cautiously before taking her hand out of Gaara's once more and settling into another twirl. This time, she kept going for a moment before stopping, holding her hands out to the side in an attempt to stabilize the whirlwind around the edges of the cavern. It didn't hold longer than about two minutes, though, and Riil frowned when the wind faded.

The tanuki, however, was looking at her with wide eyes. "A Kaze no Kokoro... Impossible... the Yoso no Kokoro were wiped out millennia ago..."

Riil blinked. "Wind Heart? Element Heart? What are you talking about?"

The tanuki sat down quite suddenly, looking very shocked. "The Yoso no Kokoro could manipulate the elements," he said. "The first shinobi looked to them for guidance, and built their jutsu after the attack forms the many Kokoro showed them. Then the shinobi turned around and killed all of them, because they could manipulate the elements without the use of chakra. That kind of power, the shinobi believed, could not be held by any mortal."

Riil's eyes were wide as the tanuki stood again, slowly walking toward her. "There have only been three Yoso no Kokoro in the millennia since then. A Chikyu no Kokoro and a Hi no Kokoro in the century after they were first destroyed, and now..." it trailed off, eyes locked on Riil. The girl's knees buckled, and Gaara knelt next to her.

"I'm the only one?" she asked. The tanuki nodded its head.

"Even I can't really relate to you right now. I have my... siblings... after all," it apologized. Gaara wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and Riil smiled.

"It's okay," she said, looking back up at the chakra beast. "So... You sound male... do you have a name?" she asked. The tanuki stared at her, once again overcome by shock.

"Shukaku," Gaara said. "That's what my uncle called you."

The tanuki nodded. "Yes, Shukaku... You are a strange child," it said, nodding toward Riil. Then it started making a barking sound, as if laughing. "And I am male."

Riil grinned. "Cool! It was weird just thinking of you as an 'it,' and just calling you 'Tanuki' would have seemed rude!"

Shukaku blinked a few times before turning to Gaara, properly addressing him for the first time since being brought out into the Hollow. "Is she why you were so happy that week a year ago?" he asked. Gaara nodded after a moment, and Shukaku looked smug. "I like her."

Gaara bit his lip. "Um, can I ask you something?"

Shukaku sighed. "The chakra my 'siblings' and I possess is violent, erratic. The more it is broken up between tails, the easier it is for us to control it. With only one tail, my control is the weakest," he said, answering the question Gaara hadn't actually had to ask. Riil frowned, then grinned and playfully shoved Gaara over.

"Tag, you're it!" she yelled, already running off. Shukaku started laughing again, and nudged Gaara.

"Go on, pup."


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay, still no kind of a posting pattern, but hey, who really cares?_

_Meh, not much to say at this point..._

_I still don't own anything._

_Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 4  
A Bad Day to be Hokage**

"I don't wanna!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen cringed, and the little blonde boy in front of him stared at the door in shock.

"Um, Hokage-sama? Was that...?" the boy started.

The door opened, and a man with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail walked in, a black-haired girl behind him and obviously pouting.

If you had stood the blonde boy and the blonde man next to each other, you could have been forgiven for thinking that they were father and son. The boy noticed this similarity, and his eyes widened.

"Who are you?"

Kazuto knelt so that he was at eye level with the boy. "My name is Namikaze Kazuto," he said. The boy's eyes widened even further.

"Namikaze? That's the Fourth Hokage's clan! Nobody knows where the clan came from, because he was the only one in Konoha!" the boy said cheerfully. Kazuto's expression fell, however, and he looked up at the Third Hokage.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Hiruzen addressed the boy, gaining his attention. "This is your uncle, and his daughter Riil."

Naruto blinked. "Uncle?"

Kazuto sighed. "Namikaze Minato is your father, Naruto. Your father, and my younger brother," he said. Naruto's eyes widened again and he turned to the Hokage, who nodded in agreement with Kazuto's words.

Then Naruto paused, and the Hokage's eyebrows knitted together as he glanced toward the windows. Kazuto, on the other hand, swung around to look at his daughter in shock. "Riil!" he snapped.

The girl's black hair had been braided, and that braid was whipping around in a wind that had come from literally nowhere. Her eyes were closed, her head bowed.

"You never told him _anything_, did you, Hokage?"

Hiruzen recoiled from the amount of venom in the girl's voice. "I'm not sure what you're—"

"The Nine-Tails!" Riil hissed, the wind picking up into a very small, very contained gale. "You didn't tell him the truth about the Nine-Tails!"

The Hokage looked at Kazuto with wide eyes, but the blonde man didn't even notice. "Riil, calm down, please!" he pleaded. Riil took in a deep breath, the winds dying down, and raised her head.

"Fine. I'll tell him," she said, reaching over to grab Naruto and drag him out before her father or the Hokage could protest.

"Please tell me she doesn't know _everything_," Hiruzen whispered. Kazuto cringed.

"It's not the Idomura way to lie, contrary to popular belief," he said. "So yes, she knows everything, and yes, she will tell Naruto everything. Perhaps for the better, given what I saw a few days ago..."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Kazuto frowned. "In Sunagakure, there is a jinchuuriki by the name of Gaara. He is the third child of the Kazekage, and the same age as Naruto and Riil. I escorted the caravan to the Sand, and had my usual meeting with the Kazekage, but that night neither I nor the Kazekage could find our youngest children, no matter where we searched, until I found this hole in the side of the cliffs we were backed up against," he said.

"She was with him?" the Hokage guessed. Kazuto smirked.

"Those two became fast friends last year, so I suppose I should have expected Riil to run off to find him the moment we made camp," he said. "What I didn't expect to find was the two of them curled up asleep against a tanuki made out of sand. A physical embodiment of the One-Tailed that lies within Gaara. And it would not let me touch either child until Riil woke and identified me as her father."

Hiruzen's eyes were wide. "You jest..."

Kazuto shook his head. "Riil called the tanuki 'Shukaku,' thanked him for playing with them even, before he retreated into Gaara's body. The boy woke up the moment he did, only to fall asleep just as quickly. I carried him back to his father myself," he said. "And when Riil and I left the camp early the next morning, Shukaku, in the form of a sand tanuki about this tall," he paused to hold his hand near his chest, "caught up to us with Gaara on his back."

"He let the boy ride him?" Hiruzen asked. Kazuto nodded.

"Gaara wanted to say goodbye, and he asked me if it would be possible to bring Riil back after school was let out for the summer here. I told him I'd see what I could do," the blonde said. Hiruzen stared at him for a time before he looked back at the door where Naruto and Riil had disappeared earlier. He then sighed and looked at the younger man with a smile on his face.

"Well, I suppose it could be worse," he decided. "In the meantime, why don't I show you to Naruto's apartment?"

While the two men headed for the aforementioned building, Naruto stopped in the forest and looked around. "Will this work?" he asked.

Riil frowned, still looking around. "Maybe. We'll have to find some way to cut it off some more later, but it should be okay," she said. Naruto grinned.

"Great! You can tell me the stuff you said you'd tell me now, right?"

Riil sighed, stepping away from Naruto a bit even as the blonde-haired boy sat down. "Well, I guess I'll answer your questions about your parents first," she said. "Um... Your dad was Namikaze Minato, younger brother to Kazuto, who was the heir to the Namikaze clan and the leader of the Idomura because the Namikaze clan is the only clan in all the shinobi countries that was originally a clan of gypsies."

"Uh, what does Idomura stand for?" Naruto asked. Riil grinned.

"'Moving village'. It's what we are, after all. A whole village, moving around and around and around. Anyway... our grandmother fell in love with Namikaze Raito, and she was from Konohagakure, so when Daddy and Uncle Minato came of age to become ninja, they had a choice between Konohagakure and Kirigakure. They both came here, and Uncle Minato was taken in by the Third Hokage, even though he doesn't really like gypsies all that much," Riil continued. Naruto looked confused though.

"Why did they have to choose between Konoha and Kirigakure?" he wondered. Riil sighed.

"If an Idomura chooses to become a ninja, they must go to the village their parents learned from. If two parents are from two different villages, the children can choose," she explained. "Both of my brothers are in Iwagakure because that's where Mom was born. Anyway... Uncle Minato married a woman from the Uzumaki clan. The Uzumakis are scattered all over the world, but this one... You've heard about the Nine-Tailed Fox, right?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Iruka said the Nine-Tailed Fox killed both our parents," he said. Riil sighed.

"I guess that's kinda true... Your mother had the fox sealed inside her," she told him. "When you were born, the seal broke, and your mother died because of it. Daddy said that Uncle Minato died sealing the Nine-Tailed Fox away again... inside you, this time."

Naruto's eyes widened. "It's inside me?!"

Riil reached out, holding the now freaked-out boy down as best she could.

"You're not the only one!" she said quickly. "And... And I've met one of the Tailed Beasts. Shukaku was really nice, once he calmed down. I bet the Nine-Tails is really nice too."

"But it killed a lot of people! Iruka said so!" Naruto argued. Riil smiled sadly.

"You'd be mad too if someone locked you away into a very, very small space that you didn't even really fit it."

Naruto stared at her for a few minutes, trying to think about that one. "Um... You said you met one of the Tailed Beasts..." he said. Riil grinned and nodded.

"I've got a friend in Sunagakure who has the One-Tailed Tanuki inside him. Shukaku can barely control his chakra on his own, but when he and Gaara work together, Shukaku can take on the form of a tanuki made out of sand and he's very nice. Kinda grumpy, but I can't blame him for that," she said.

Naruto blinked a few times before looking down at himself. Then, to Riil's surprise, he lifted his shirt to reveal a black seal on his stomach. "Do you think this is...?"

Riil blinked a few times. "Wow. That's new. I've never seen Gaara's seal, so I can't really tell you what it's like, but... Well, you wanna try to meet it?" she asked. Naruto looked up at her and grinned.

"Yeah! You know how?"

Riil giggled. "I came up the idea Gaara used to pull Shukaku out. But first... Hmm... Shukaku said none of the other Tailed Beasts could manipulate an element the way he did, so... I guess we're just gonna have to go with pure chakra?"

Naruto frowned. "Uh, what am I supposed to do?" he asked. Riil bit her lip.

"You can feel your chakra, right?" she replied. Naruto nodded, and Riil pointed to his stomach, where the once-again covered seal was. "The fox's chakra should be there, that's the chakra we need. It'll feel different than yours."

Naruto put a hand over his stomach, eyes closed in concentration, though Riil wondered how long it would take before he lost patience with it. The boy reminded her of Kankuro, who could never seem to sit still for long.

But when the red-orange chakra started wrapping around Naruto's arm, Riil's eyes widened. "Hold your arm away from yourself, focus the chakra away, into the shape of a fox, if you can," she said quickly. Naruto tried, but seemed to move too quickly, and the chakra dissipated. Riil giggled a bit. "That's alright," she said when she saw the look on Naruto's face. "It takes a few tries."

Naruto frowned, not bothering to put his hand back over his stomach and just holding it out, an expression of fierce concentration on his face that most people would have been utterly shocked by, given his usual habit of not trying or goofing off.

Not knowing Naruto's normal habits, Riil was only mildly surprised when the red-orange chakra again started to flow around his arm.

This time, it started to form the rough outline of a fox. Except, it didn't quite solidify, and once Naruto let go of it, it once again retreated back within his body. Riil grinned.

"Keep getting better at that speed, and you'll figure it out in no time," she said cheerfully. Naruto grinned.

"Thanks, Riil!"

He was all set to try again when Riil held up a hand, standing up and looking around cautiously. Naruto stood as well, not sure what had caught her attention until a group of five kids their age came over the edge of the hollow, two of the boys tripping on roots and tumbling down in.

"Oh! Shikamaru, Choji, Sasuke, Kiba, Hinata! Hi!" Naruto called. Riil sighed as the other two boys and the girl made their way down more carefully. One of the boys noted her right away, the other helping the chubbier of the two boys who had tripped to his feet.

"Who are you?" the boy asked. Riil frowned.

"It's rude to ask someone's name before telling them yours," she shot back. The boy smirked.

"Fair enough. I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

"Riil."

"Just Riil?" the other boy who hadn't taken a tumble asked. "I'm Nara Shikamaru, by the way." The boy he'd helped up turned around with a smile.

"I'm Akimichi Choji!"

"Hy-Hyuuga Hi-Hinata..." the girl stuttered. Riil smiled encouragingly at her, and this seemed to help a bit.

"And I'm Inuzuka Kiba," the other boy who had fallen said, having been helped up by Naruto. Sasuke crossed his arms.

"Back to what Shikamaru said..." he started. Riil sighed.

"Um... I'm Naruto's cousin," she said. Shikamaru blinked.

"You're an Uzumaki?" he guessed. Riil shook her head.

"Nope other side," she replied. "I'm..." Then, looking around the group, she sighed. "Oh, whatever. I am Namikaze Riil of the Idomura."


	5. Chapter 5

_Still not sure what day I'm going to update this on once I start posting Re:AST... Ah well. Here we go.  
_

_I still don't own anything other than my OCs._

_Reviews not required but they are appreciated._

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**Chapter 5  
Getting Used to Konoha**

"Riil, Riil, I did it! I did it!"

"What is he going on about now?" Shikamaru grumbled. It had been two months since Riil had first come to Konohagakure, and on top of learning her way around the town, the other kids who would be in her class were trying to teach her other things than just the layout of the town.

In Shikamaru's case, the game of Shougi, which his father had taught him to play just before she had arrived. The Nara boy had learned quickly that playing Go with Riil ended badly, since she understood the rules better than he did, but Shougi was another story altogether.

The two of them were currently sitting in what Riil had named the Red Hollow. If you asked her why, she'd have decided to 'channel Shino' for her answer:

"Why red, you ask? Because that's the color those vines we hung from the branches around the hollow will turn when it gets cold."

No one was quite sure who Shino was, and in a couple of cases (Shikamaru and Kiba), they weren't sure they wanted to know. Riil assured them that he would be joining them when school started though, so they let it lie.

Naruto jumped down into the small, very carefully closed-in clearing, grinning wider than either of the other five-year-olds had ever seen.

"I did it, Riil, I did it!" he was still cheering. Riil giggled.

"Great, but I'm in the middle of a game with Shikamaru!" she said, emphasizing her opponent's name. Naruto blinked a couple of times before looking sheepish.

"Whoops... Sorry. Um... I guess I can show you later, then. Maybe Kiba will want to play," he said. Then he grinned again. "Oh, better idea! I'll go work on fixing up the White Hollow!"

Then the blonde took off again, leaving Riil groaning and Shikamaru wondering just what he was talking about.

"White Hollow?"

Riil sighed. "I've claimed it and will allow only Naruto in. The Red Hollow kinda got turned into a big group place after you guys stumbled in on us," she said. "It's gonna take me a lot of work to get the White Hollow into as good a shape as this one's in, though, so I'm kinda glad Naruto's going to help."

Shikamaru shrugged and they went back to their game of Shougi, except Riil seemed to be very distracted now. The two gave up after Shikamaru won for the eighth time, and Riil helped him pack the board up. They didn't really talk much when the left, Riil holding the vine curtain to the side so Shikamaru could get through easily, since his arms were full with the board and bags of Shougi tiles.

Riil took the bags once they'd passed the vines, leaving Shikamaru to carry the board, arguably the lighter load, which resulted in a short argument and Riil handing over the bags in exchange for the board. By this time, the two had passed out of the forest, and were walking down the streets toward the Nara compound.

It was as they were taking a detour to avoid the Yamanaka flower shop that they ran into the boy. He wore a high-collared shirt, goggle-like sunglasses, and a hooded jacket, and Shikamaru couldn't help but stare. Especially when Riil stopped, looking at the other child expectantly, and he walked over to them rather slowly.

"Hello..."

Riil smiled. "Hi!" she said cheerfully. The boy seemed to relax a little, baffling Shikamaru even more.

"Um... Who are you?" he asked. Then, catching Riil's look, he groaned. "Ugh, sorry Riil," Shikamaru said. "I'm Nara Shikamaru."

The boy in the goggles didn't reply at first. Shikamaru was certain that the kid was shocked, even though he couldn't see his expression.

"Aburame Shino."

Shikamaru blinked a few times before turning to Riil. "Shino's an Aburame?"

Riil bit her lip, then gave in and giggled. "The look on your face!"

Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag... Come on, Riil, it was a valid question," he grumbled. Riil grinned, finally getting her giggles under control.

"Yes," she said simply before turning to the hooded boy. "I thought you said your dad didn't really want you leaving the compound until school started?"

Shino ducked his head a little. "He was surprised when I told him about you. And... I was sitting on the roof and saw you come out of the forest... Do you mind if I join you for a little bit?" he asked. Riil shook her head.

"Not at all. Shikamaru and I were just going to take this Shougi stuff back to his dad, but he's supposed to be meeting Choji and his dad for lunch, so I've got plenty of free time," she said. Shino looked up at them again.

"Thank you," he said quietly. Shikamaru turned around and headed off, still avoiding the Yamanaka flower shop after an incident with the little girl whose mother worked there.

"So, why didn't your dad want you leaving the Aburame compound?" Shikamaru asked after a while. Shino shrugged.

"He keeps warning me that I'm different from all the other kids my age. Why, you ask? Because I always look at things logically... and..." he trailed off, his head turning slightly toward Riil. She shrugged, and Shino took a deep breath. "Um... I have a colony of kikaichu within my body."

Shikamaru's step faltered for a moment. "You're joking?! Already?" Shino didn't reply, but he didn't really need to, either. "I mean, I know your clan has bugs and all, but I didn't think... Wow."

Shikamaru didn't speak again until they reached the Nara compound, which admittedly wasn't that long. He let the other two in and once they had stepped into his house, Riil stepped right over to a table and sat the Shougi board up onto it. Shikamaru did the same a moment later, just in time for a man who could only be his father to step into the room.

"Ah, hello Shikamaru. And... Riil, correct?"

Riil nodded, and the man's attention turned to the third five-year-old. "And you seem to have picked up a new friend along the way. Hello, young man. I'm Nara Shikaku, Shikamaru's father," he said, holding out his hand but not really expecting the boy to shake it.

However, Shino did reach out to shake the offered hand. "Aburame Shino. It's nice to meet you," he said politely. Shikaku smirked and put a hand on Shikamaru's head.

"Heh, polite kid. You could learn a thing or two from him," he teased his son. Shikamaru sighed.

"Dad, I've gotta go..." he complained. Shikaku laughed and turned around, heading back out the way he came.

"Stay out of trouble, you three," he called over his shoulder. Shikamaru ushered the other two out of his house before his dad could turn around again, and sighed in relief once they were safely out of the compound.

"Nothing against my dad, but sometimes being around him is such a drag," he said. Riil giggled.

"Nothing against you, but you think everything is a drag," she said. Shikamaru shrugged and walked off, while Riil turned to Shino. "Hey, you haven't seen the Red Hollow yet, have you?" Shino shook his head, and she grinned. "Alright! I'm kidnapping you for the day to show you all of the Red Hollow gang's hangouts! And Ichiraku's. Naruto will go off on one of his... erm... whatever, you get the point."

Whether Shino got the point or not, he didn't have a lot of choice in where to go when Riil grabbed his arm and pulled him off, back in the direction they had come from. They made a stop at the Yamanaka flower shop this time, instead of avoiding it.

"Hello! Oh, Riil! Looking for Ino?" the woman behind the counter said cheerfully. Riil grinned.

"Ino and either of the other girls, if you know where they are," she replied. Ino's mother laughed.

"Try Sakura's house. Ino went over there to play earlier, and Hinata is probably at home," she told the girl. Riil giggled, turning and pulling Shino along with her.

"Thank you!"

Shino finally dug his heels in about a block away, and Riil looked at him in surprise as he ducked his head.

"Um... Do you mind if we stop by my home? I kinda... didn't tell my dad I was leaving, so I should probably go leave him a note or something," Shino admitted. Riil giggled.

"Come on, let's just go tell him! I can be very convincing when I want to be," she said, pulling Shino along toward where she'd found him a couple weeks before. Once inside the compound, however, Shino redirected her toward one of the houses.

Shino let himself in, holding the door for Riil so that she could come in as well. The two children didn't make it far before an older boy's voice called out, though.

"Hey, there's the little wanderer! Told you he'd make it back just fine."

Shino and Riil turned, and Shino immediately ducked his head when he saw the man standing behind the boy who had spoken. "Hello, Father."

Riil waited until the man's head turned slightly toward her to smile as charmingly as she could. "Hi, Aburame-sama."

The man tilted his head to the side slightly. "Let me guess. You want me to let Shino out so he can play with you." Riil giggled and nodded, then looked back up at Shino's father.

Shino watched on in shock as his father's expression, which he recognized as being stern, melted away into a smile before he turned to Shino. "Be home for dinner. And your new friend is invited as well."

Riil squealed, for lack of another word, and managed to pull the shell-shocked Aburame boy behind her toward the door. "Thank you Aburame-sama! We won't be late!" she said, practically pushing Shino out the door.

Not before Shino heard his father chuckling, though.

Riil had managed to drag Shino all the way to the Red Hollow before he finally snapped out of it. "You know, I never thought my dad would be susceptible to 'cute,'" he said as Riil pulled the vines to the side. Riil frowned.

"What's sus...sus..."

"Susceptible?" Shino supplied. "It means it works on him."

"Huh..."

"Huh, what?"

"Hi, Sasuke! Hi, Kiba!" Riil cheered, spotting the two boys who had occupied the Red Hollow sometime between her and Shikamaru leaving and then. She made her way down into the center, Shino following her quietly, but looking around the whole time.

"Who's this?" Kiba asked. Shino looked at the two of them, then Riil, who grinned.

"Sasuke, Kiba, meet Aburame Shino!" she said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Are you the Shino she got the 'why-because' stuff from?" he asked. Shino chuckled.

"She does have a habit of copying people's catchphrases, doesn't she?" he said. Riil giggled.

"Anyway... Shino, meet Uchiha Sasuke and Inuzuka Kiba!" she continued. Then she looked around. "Um, I'm gonna leave him with you two for a moment so I can go talk to Naruto."

Then she took off, and Shino turned to Sasuke and Kiba. "Is she always like that?"

"Yes."

Kiba grinned. "Jinx!"

Sasuke sighed. "I still say that's stupid," he said. Then he looked up at Shino, who was still looking at the swinging vines Riil had pushed aside previously.

"Um... Who's Naruto? I feel like I should know that name..." Shino asked. Sasuke smirked.

"Naruto is Riil's cousin. He goes by the name of his mother's clan, even though they're related on his father's side," the Uchiha boy explained. "So, Aburame, huh? You ever played tag before?"

Riil wasn't sure what to expect when she and Naruto ran into the Red Hollow ten minutes later, but to be almost run over by Shino certainly wasn't it. "Oh, hi, Riil!" Kiba called, coming to a stop. Sasuke laughed and climbed down from the tree he had hidden behind, darting out to tap Naruto on the shoulder before retreating and calling over his shoulder.

"You're it, Naruto!"

Once the initial confusion wore off, Riil, Kiba, and Shino ran off, this time avoiding the blonde boy.


	6. Chapter 6

_It bothers me that I suddenly cease to post when I don't have inspiration for any of my stories, even if I've written quite a ways ahead... Oh well. This update brought to you by a bored me reading my stories and realizing that it had been so long since I read over this one that I wanted to read further than chapter five.  
_

_That having been said... I've graduated from high school! If I had a little more energy, I'd find Guy and Lee to celebrate... but I'd rather not deal with their brand of insanity at five in the morning. :D_

_I own only my OCs. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 6  
Kurama and School**

"Ready?" Naruto asked. The two five-year-olds were standing in the White Hollow, the day before school was supposed to start, a little over a week after Shino had been introduced to the rest of the gang. It was smaller than the Red Hollow, but it was still rather spacious, and more comfortable, really. Piles of seemingly-natural brush made it difficult to get in, if you didn't want to partially climb a tree.

Riil nodded, and Naruto closed his eyes, holding his hand out like he was touching a wall. The red-orange chakra Riil was starting to associate with the Nine-Tailed Fox swirled around his arm, forming first into a large, loose sphere that then collapsed inward on itself to form a fox almost twice the five-year-olds' height. One very large tail split into nine, and eyes snapped open.

Naruto lowered his arm and the fox shook its head before stretching. "Ah, that's better, kit," it said. Again, Riil was given the impression that the 'demon' was male.

She stepped over next to Naruto, and the fox looked at her. "Hello!" Riil said cheerfully. The fox seemed to smirk, and it turned to Naruto.

"You said your cousin suggested this to you? I take it she's the cousin?" it asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yup! Kurama, meet Riil! Riil, this is Kurama," he said. Kurama chuckled at the blonde's enthusiasm. "I told him you'd met one of his siblings already," Naruto added. Riil smiled, and Kurama stepped toward her for a moment, sniffing around her. Riil watched, then tentatively reached out a hand.

The fox snapped at her before jumping away, though once it was a distance away again, it looked back at her guiltily. "Sorry... I don't like people touching me unless I've given them express permission to do so," he said. Riil blinked a couple of times before smiling.

"It's okay. I was just being curious," she said, just as cheerfully as before. Kurama sat on his haunches and tilted his head to the side.

"You're a strange one... You don't smell like a normal human, but you don't carry one of my siblings within you," he told her. "You smell like... Hmm... You smell like Shukaku's home."

Riil giggled. "Fitting, given that Shukaku is the other one of you I've met," she said. Kurama's eyes widened.

"You survived the encounter?!"

Riil shrugged. "He's very nice, when his lack of chakra control isn't driving him to insanity."

Kurama tilted his head to the side. "Lack of chakra control? How is that supposed to work?"

"Huh?" Naruto piped up, looking at Kurama confusedly. "You don't know?" Riil sighed.

"Yeah, Shukaku said he'd be the one of the ones with no idea what I'm talking about," she said. Then she turned to Kurama again. "He also said you believe that more tails equals more chakra and power, but that's not completely true. More tails means more control. He found that out somewhere between the last time he saw you and when Gaara became his... uh... that long word I can't say."

"Jinchuuriki?" Kurama guessed. Riil nodded.

"Yep! And Daddy says that the more control you have over your chakra, the more of it you can use, which is typically translated into more power. So yeah, you're kinda right, but not for the reasons you thought," she said. Kurama tilted his head to the side, as if considering it.

"Hmm... I'd never thought about that. Interesting," he said after a few minutes. "But even if you've met Shukaku, you wouldn't smell like his home. The desert wind... It clings to you more than you know. I just can't seem to figure out _why_..."

Riil's eyes widened at the word 'wind,' and she glanced at Naruto, who obligingly stepped away. Then she closed her eyes and started twirling, whipping up a whirlwind around herself for the first time in almost a month. When she stopped, Kurama's eyes were even wider than Shukaku's had been, and Riil tucked her hands behind her back.

The two had a small staring contest for a while before Kurama stood and walked over to her. Riil, cautious but curious, lifted her right hand and again reached out for the fox.

This time, rather than snapping at her in warning and jumping away, Kurama extended his head and snatched up her hand in his mouth, causing Riil to yelp in shock while Naruto cried out in worry, because the blonde was the first one to spot the blood dripping out of Riil's hand.

The girl just stared at the teeth dug into her hand for the minute or so that Kurama held it in his jaws. Then he let go.

Rather than even more blood gushing out, the flow started to stop, and Riil gasped, feeling the subtle increase in her chakra as well as the rapidly-healing bite mark on her hand.

"I'm sorry. That's the easiest way to do it..." Kurama said. "It will scar, unfortunately..."

Riil looked up at him and smiled, reaching up with her left hand to scratch him behind the ears. "It's okay. I'll just have to wash the blood off before the other kids see it. Or worse, Iruka," she said, giving Naruto a look. The blonde flinched. He didn't like seeing Iruka upset either. Riil hummed something quietly for a moment before crossing her arms and looking at Naruto. "Now what?"

Naruto looked thoughtful. "Well... We still need to figure out what we're going to do with this place," he said. "After all, Ino's already planted a bunch of flowers around the Red Hollow, and Shino and Shikamaru said that their dads were gonna help us make a ladder and a platform, so we'll have a little sorta-tree house there..."

Riil shook her head. "We can't do that without finding a way to block this place off, like we did with the vines. And we had Ino's dad's help for half of that, and Itachi's help for the other half," she argued. Kurama tilted his head to the side.

"What about digging this hollow out a little more? The roots of the trees can be shifted if done right, and at this time of year, grass grows quickly. If we work a little bit at a time, no one will notice the bare parts of the ground," he suggested. Riil stopped, thinking that over carefully.

"Well, it's just the three of us, but the others know we've got our own little spot, so I guess if we ask for stuff, they won't question us too much," she said. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, sounds good to me!" he agreed. Kurama chuckled at the blonde's enthusiasm.

"Very well. But why don't you two kits go home for the night? I'll get started on it tonight, but you should get yourself cleaned up," he said, gently nudging Riil's hand. The black-haired girl nodded.

"Thanks, Kurama! Come on, Naruto!" she said, already scrambling up and out of the hollow. Kurama watched them go, then leapt over the brush himself and examined the trees around the edges of their play area before choosing one and steadying himself to start digging.

The next morning, Riil was woken rather rudely by Naruto.

"Come on, come on, it's time for school, it's time for school!" the hyperactive blonde boy yelled, jumping up and down on his cousin's bed. Riil rolled out of the bed with a groan.

"Naruto... Get out of my room," she grumbled. Naruto grinned, running out for what Riil knew would only be a couple of minutes if she didn't hurry and get dressed.

"Naruto, Riil!? You two up yet?"

Riil yawned. "Gimme a minute! I gotta pee!" she complained. First Naruto, now Iruka.

Riil finally walked into the kitchenette in a blood-red top and jean capris. She was carrying something purple and yellow in her left hand while running her right hand through wild hair.

"Good morning, Riil-chan!" Naruto said happily. Iruka chuckled.

"Are you purposely trying to not match with the red, purple, and yellow?" he asked. Riil yawned, but sat down at the table.

"It matches fine," she grumbled, not even really bothering with her hair. It trailed down to the middle of her back, but it really needed a brush, and Iruka sighed after putting pancakes in front of both five-year-olds.

"Do you want me to get your brush?" he asked. Riil stuck her tongue out.

"Only if you want to brush it," she shot back. Iruka chuckled, walking off down to her room. He didn't really want to have to listen to Riil complaining about it once she was awake. Which she would, he knew. He'd been living next to her for two and half months, almost, and had had to cook at least three meals a week for the duo of five-year-olds.

Riil could cook, yes, but her menu was limited to pasta (though Iruka had to admit she could cook many different kinds) and hamburgers. Hence, the seventeen-year-old cooking for them regularly.

Naruto's orphan stipend was carefully guarded by Riil, after she arrived, and was no longer spent on ramen every single day, twice (or more) a day. Also carefully stashed away was the money she was receiving from her father monthly. Ramen was now a lunch-only meal (much to Naruto's annoyance) and extra money was either spent on food that Riil and Iruka would cook or was saved for their once-a-week restaurant trips.

Iruka returned to the kitchenette to find Riil handing over one of her three pancakes to Naruto before putting her plate in the sink and turning on the water. Iruka smiled slightly and walked over to her, managing to catch some of her matted hair in the brush and start untangling it.

By the time he was done with Riil's hair, Naruto was done with his breakfast. "Well, is everyone ready to head out?" Iruka asked. Riil grabbed the yellow-striped purple sash she'd carried in and tied it around her waist before grabbing her bag (also purple and yellow, courtesy of her father) and standing at the door. Naruto grabbed the goggles that had been sitting on the table and put them on like a headband, grabbing his own orange bag and running over to join her.

"Iruka, you start teaching today, right?" Riil asked. Iruka nodded, and the girl smiled. "I hope I'm in your class."

"Yeah, me too!" Naruto cheered. Iruka chuckled.

"We'll see. Come on, we don't want to be late," he reminded them. Riil grinned and ran on ahead, Naruto chasing after her. Once they reached the school, it turned into impatient waiting for Iruka, who had fallen behind.

As it turned out, Iruka was going to be teaching them, and once all thirty or so students in their class had settled down into one very large group and four or five smaller ones, Iruka smiled at them. "Alright, everyone, settle down, I know you're all excited. I'd like to start today easy... I'm going to have you all stand up one by one and tell us a few things about yourself, nothing you don't want to say, of course," he said. "Any volunteers to go first?"

Naruto's hand shot into the air from one side of the large group, and Riil giggled, while Iruka just smiled and nodded at him.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen and I'm gonna be a Hokage someday! Believe it!" the energetic blonde announced. Riil giggled again, and one of the kids in one of the smaller groups frowned.

"Think it's funny? Why don't you go next?!" he said. Riil shrugged and stood up as Naruto sat down.

"I'm Namikaze Riil of the Idomura, Naruto's my cousin, and my best friend lives in Sunagakure," she stated. "And I'm very opinionated. There are plenty of people in this room who will confirm that."

The entire group around her and Naruto broke out into laughter.

* * *

_P.S.- The outfit Riil's wearing in the cover? That's what she wore to school, and it's what she'll be wearing up until age ten. (She's supposed to be about eight in that picture.)_


	7. Chapter 7

_You're all about to see what a difference number of tails makes. Also, if anyone complains about Kurama being OOC... well, he's dealing with little kids. Wait until they're older, then things are going to get VERY interesting._

_Also-Put in online application and called their office (as instructed) yesterday, had interview today, I've already been accepted, and they were trying to get me in for training tomorrow. Eh, no. It's not a job I REALLY want to be doing, so I'm going to spend a week putting in applications elsewhere and hopefully I'll get a couple accepted. All of a sudden, I hate being out of high school. Oh well. Welcome to the real world._

_Um... Oh, yeah! Anyone have any suggestions for drawing projects for this story? I'm trying to come up with something to draw for this, but I'm pulling up nothing... Well, except for Fonz sitting on the fold-out 'bench' on the side of a supply wagon. (Where that idea came from, I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure it's from their visit when they're all eight, and so far, that means we still have two to go before then... :/_

_Sorry, not trying to chat ears(eyes?) off. I don't own anything but my OCs!_

_Enjoy! (Reviews would be appreciated, remind me this story's here if nothing else...)_

* * *

**Chapter 7  
Story of a Fox**

It was the largest group that had ever been in the Red Hollow. Which was not a good thing.

Because it was also the largest group of people who had seen Kurama in five years. And given that they were all five or six years old, they were bound to be over-reacting.

Which led to Riil having to start up a whirlwind. Of course, with that came yet another problem.

None of them, save for Naruto, knew about her wind abilities.

'How did we get into this?' Riil thought to herself, struggling to keep the whirlwind going while her classmates freaked out. Actually, no. That was a stupid question. She knew how it had happened.

_Two hours previously..._

"Alright, you're all dismissed! You did well today! Have fun over the weekend!" Iruka announced. They were now two weeks into the school year, and the semi-defined groups of the first day were now very much definite. One or two kids had switched groups, but the original big group hadn't changed at all.

"Hey, Ino! You've got the next batch of flowers ready, right?" Sakura called. Her pink hair and cheerful demeanor had brought her and Riil together faster than either of the other two girls.

Ino laughed. "Yeah, but Daddy said he wanted to make sure they got pollinated before he lets us plant them around the Hollow," she said. Shino, who had been forced to ditch the hood while in school, raised his hand.

"Um, we can help with that," he volunteered himself and his kikaichu. Shikamaru smiled.

"Choji and I'll be along in a couple hours. Our dads want to take us out for lunch," he said. Sasuke nodded.

"Why don't we all meet up in three hours, then? Itachi's gonna take me out for lunch, too, and he promised he'd help me practice with my shuriken, along with anyone else who wants to come," he said. Riil laughed.

"Okay! Me and Naruto are gonna go work on the White Hollow. We'll meet you guys at the Red Hollow later!" she agreed cheerfully, already turning around and running off. Naruto trailed after her a minute later, but Sasuke held everyone else off from splitting up.

"Two hours, not three," he said. Shikamaru frowned.

"But why...?"

"Because I wanna talk to you guys about something, and I think we really need to talk about it. Meet up in the Red Hollow in two hours, okay?" Sasuke said, very seriously. The others glanced around, but everyone reluctantly agreed. With the exception of Shino, most of them knew what he wanted to talk about already.

_Later..._

"Hmm... Would you mind showing me the other hollow?" Kurama asked. "I'd like to get an idea of what you're doing there before we continue here."

Riil looked around and wiped her hands on the rag they'd brought along. She nodded after a moment. "We've got time. Sasuke said 'three hours' so no one will be there for another half an hour at least," she said. Naruto nodded, and then slipped into the tunnel Kurama had dug for them. It was disguised on the outside of the hollow as an ordinary animal's den, so their friends wouldn't immediately suspect it.

Riil, Naruto, and Kurama walked through the forest for a ways, until Kurama's ears perked up. "How close are we to the village?" he asked. Riil blinked.

"Um, pretty close? A few hundred yards from the nearest house, at least," she answered. He nodded, accepting that answer, before they continued on to the Red Hollow. Riil jogged up ahead once the vines came into view and pulled them to the side to let Kurama and Naruto in.

The Nine-Tailed Fox paused, taking in the hollow slowly. "Interesting," he commented, taking a slow walk around. Riil and Naruto started talking about their classes while he was looking around, and started laughing at some of the assumptions their classmates had made regarding Riil. Kurama was sniffing at one of the two beds of flowers Ino had already put in place when his ears perked up again and he turned his nose to the wind. "Hush, kits!"

Riil and Naruto silenced themselves immediately, but they'd been too lax in their guard, and as they ran over to Kurama, eight children their age entered the Red Hollow.

Sasuke was the first to notice them, his eyes going wide when he saw Naruto and Riil, and even wider when he spotted the fox behind them.

Sakura squeaked, spotting the fox first, and backed into Hinata, making her yelp as well.

Ino gasped, realizing that their plan to talk without Riil and Naruto was busted.

Shikamaru and Choji exchanged guilty looks, though they both watched the fox warily.

Kiba started backing away slowly, eyes darting between the two children and the fox whose back end they were trying to hide.

Shino was the one who sealed their fate, pulling one hand out of his jacket.

Riil saw the beetles crawling on Shino's sleeve before anyone else, and she was already launching into a twirl when the first of those beetles took flight.

The three girls, Choji, Kiba, and Shino gasped when the whirlwind started up, Shino for a different reason than the others. Riil frowned, finally stopping and holding her hands out to the sides, desperately hanging on to the whirlwind and forcing it to keep going.

"What the—?"

"How?"

"Riil?! Are you doing this?!"

"Riil, stop! My kikaichu!"

"My god... That fox...!"

"Nine tails!"

'How did we get into this?' Riil thought to herself, struggling to keep the whirlwind going while her classmates freaked out. Actually, no. That was a stupid question. She knew how it had happened. A better question would have been 'how to fix this?'

"Call back the kikaichu, Shino!" Riil yelled over the howling of the whirlwind. The Aburame looked at her with an obviously hurt expression before it was overtaken by an indifferent mask and he held his arm out.

The dozen or so beetles he'd originally sent out to get his father flew out of Riil's gale, stumbled around in midair a bit, and then returned to him. Once they had, Riil lowered her arms, slowly, and the winds died out peacefully, leaving Riil panting.

"Just let us explain... Because the adults won't..." she said. Sasuke bit his lip.

"But..."

"You guys are all here at least an hour earlier than you said you'd be, which means you were planning on doing something that didn't include us," Riil interrupted. She sighed. "And I can guess what it was..."

"Riil..." Sakura started.

"Your parents don't want you hanging around us, isn't that right?"

"Riil!" Shikamaru cried out in shock. Riil looked up and smiled sadly, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm an Idomura. Naruto's a jin... uh... jinchuuriki. We're the kind of people that parents always warn their kids against being friends with," she said. Her voice was sad, but... accepting. "So... If you guys don't want us around... That's fine."

"Riil..."

Riil looked over at Naruto. "It was bound to happen sooner or later," she told him. Then she turned back to the others. "If we have to keep to ourselves, okay. But please... you guys can't tell _anyone_ about Kurama. Especially not your parents."

Sasuke, Ino, Hinata, and Kiba exchanged some very, very guilty looks. Choji and Shikamaru looked sad, but Shikamaru seemed... determined, almost. Shino... none of them could read Shino's expression, but Sakura...

"Five of my great-grandparents were Idomura," Sakura said. "Mom and Dad said so, even showed me a family tree and pointed out all five of them. If I walked away from you because everyone else is, they'd tell me I'm being stupid. And I'd have to agree with them."

"Sakura's right."

Everyone turned around to look at Shino in shock.

"Idomura may be gypsies, but they're still human. Even in Konoha, we're split up into Clans whose customs and beliefs differ. The Idomura just have customs and beliefs that differ more than we're strictly comfortable with," he continued. Then he turned his head to the side. "And abilities, apparently..." he added in a mutter. Riil cringed.

"My abilities are unique to me," she said. "No one else has had them in centuries, and I've got two different Tailed Beasts who will confirm that... even if only one of them is nearby."

"Speaking of which..." Sasuke started. Naruto stood in front of Kurama defensively.

"He's not evil!"

Shikamaru sighed. "The way he's glaring at us isn't very convincing, Naruto," he said. Kurama growled.

"The hostile pheromones you're all giving off aren't very comforting, either," he shot back. Shikamaru's eyes widened, and Riil frowned.

"Kurama, that's really not helping," she said.

"That—he attacked the village almost six years ago!" Kiba yelled, outraged at how easily Riil was talking to the fox. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"How about we squish you into a space about the size of the eraser on the end of your pencil? See how happy you are when we let you out?"

Kiba spluttered, falling over rather over-dramatically, and Sakura and Ino exchanged looks before bursting out into loud, uncontrolled laughter. Meanwhile, Kurama sighed.

"Actually, the... incident six years ago really was a case of me attacking... Except I wasn't trying to hurt the people of the village," he admitted. "I have to admit, I liked Kushina. I wasn't pleased when she was killed."

"Killed?!" Naruto echoed. Kurama sighed, laying down and looking past the blonde toward the other eight children.

"Might as well all get comfortable. This is going to be a long story," he told them. Riil sat down and leaned back against Kurama's side, Naruto doing the same right next to her. Ino and Sakura laid on their stomachs, Hinata sitting cross-legged next to Sakura, and Shino sitting next to her against a tree. Sasuke, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba sat on Ino's other side, all cross-legged except for Shikamaru, who was sprawled out on his back on the incline up toward the edge of the hollow.

"Kushina was eight when I first managed to contact her, shortly after she first became my jinchuuriki, a human who holds within them myself or one of my siblings. She was frightened of me, at first. I think Naruto is one of the few jinchuuriki I've been sealed within who wasn't. She let go of her fear slowly, however, and the more we spoke, the more I came to accept her as a friend," Kurama started. "She was kidnapped not four years later by ninja from Kumogakure, and the only one who managed to pick up her trail was one Namikaze Minato."

"Namikaze? One of your dads?" Shikamaru guessed. Riil giggled, pointing to Naruto in answer. "Wait, didn't he become the Fourth Hokage?" Riil nodded, and Kurama sighed.

"Yes. Minato was Kushina's first friend, and eventually became her first and only love as well. I don't remember much. I started fading into the background after their marriage. Then... Then things got complicated," he continued. "I knew it, the moment Naruto was conceived. The seal started to weaken, and when the time came that he was to be born, I was beginning to fear that it would break. And if it did..."

Riil frowned. "The Tailed Beasts are huge. They cause damage even without trying to, even when they don't want to," she commented. Kurama nodded.

"When the birth was over, I thought that was it, and I was ready to go back to sleep. I never got that chance however, because the next thing I knew, the seal had been released. Kushina may have been an excellent candidate for a jinchuuriki, but as far as I am aware, no one has survived having myself or one of my siblings torn out of their body," he said, pausing to look away. "I was angrier than I'd been for a long time. I knew Kushina hadn't undone the seal herself, as she and her husband had been desperately holding the seal together during the birth. It meant that someone else had unlocked it."

Ino's eyes were wide. "You weren't just trying to destroy the village... You were trying to get revenge on the guy who killed Naruto's mom," she realized. Kurama ducked his head.

"Yes... But it wasn't worth the price Naruto paid in the end," he said. Naruto forced himself to grin and hug the large fox.

"I've got you and Riil and Iruka-sensei. I'll be okay," he decided.

Kurama could only chuckle at the blonde.


End file.
